Current training plan

This year, I'm following a training plan of my own creation, the core of which is a four-week cycle with one recovery week.

Each of the three non-recovery weeks has a different focus, which mainly has to do with the type of long run:

• Week 1: mixed, with the second longest and second hilliest run of the cycle
• Week 2: distance, with the longest run of the cycle
• Week 3: elevation gain, with the hilliest run of the cycle

Each week has a mix of trail and flat running with:

• two trail runs (including one easy run)
• two flat runs (including an economy (EF) test)
• one Z2 or Z4 run, depending on the phase (base or build), on the trails or flat, depending on the week
• one VO2 (aerobic capacity) run with 30" to 3' intervals, depending on the phase (base or build), on the trails or flat, depending on the week
• hill or flat sprints, depending on the week
• form drills twice a week (on flat days or the easy day), one day with hill or flat strides (lighter versions of the sprints)

In total, six days of running, with the:

• second hardest midweek workout on Tuesday (Z4 or VO2, depending on the phase)
• easy trail run with drills and strides on Wednesday
• hardest midweek workout on Thursday (Z4 or VO2, depending on the phase)
• EF test on Friday
• sprints on Saturday
• longest run on Sunday

This plan is a mix of ideas from:

• Big Vert plan (Uphill Athlete), which I did last year
• Fast after 50 by Joe Friel
• The Happy Runner by Roche and Roche

The weekly focus and the mixing up of the terrain were my ideas.

Running goals for 2022

Be consistent

My number one goal is to train — to run — the whole year, without any breaks. By this I mean:

• not having more than three days for an injury or niggle

I did this in 2021. So let's see if I can do it again.

Get stronger

I.e. more injury resistant and better prepared to run fast and long. This means:

• keep doing leg strength, kettlebell and upper body work two or three times a week
• add in core work (once or twice a week)

I also have some upper body strength goals:

• 24 pullups in a row (currently at 20)
• 3' dead hang (two arms) (currently at 2')
• 1' dead hang on each arm (max. so far is 20")
• 75 push ups in a row (currently 59)
• 40 dips in a row (have done 30)

Get faster

My main events will be trail ultras, but I also want to improve my running economy and speed. So I'm going to try to:

• score over 70% on the age-graded percentages for 1 k, 5 k and 10 k as a 49- or 50-year old

Do more flat and fast running

To get faster and more economical, I'm going to do more flat and fast running than last year.

Last year I followed a vert-based, hiking-heavy plan. It served me well — I got though the ultras I did in one piece.

But I don't want to train like that forever, even if I only ever do ultras. I felt I got slower (or at least not faster) and less economical.

And besides, I like road running as much as I do trail running. I want to do both.

I also like doing varied workouts each week. Both in terms of speed and terrain.

Improve the training plan

To be able to do trail ultras and work on running speed and economy, I've come up with training plan that I can use all year round.

It's a four-week cycle with one recovery week. The runs each week depend on the phase (base or build) and the focus of the week (hilly, flat or mixed). The focus has more to do with the long run; each week has a mix of trail and flat running.

The goal for this year is to fine-tune this plan. Questions to answer include:

• Can I do hilly ultras in good shape (i.e. without muscle cramps and finishing) with a more running-focused plan?
• How much better can I get at doing hill and flat sprints by doing them all year round?
• How much can I improve my relative 5 and 10 k time by (I'm not going to get any PBs at this age)?
• Can my body put up with this amount of variation? For instance, I'm only going to do one hilly long run a month. Will my body be able to handle it and not get lower-leg niggles?

Focus on the plan, not distance or elevation totals

Last year I kept my sights on weekly, monthly and yearly kms run and metres climbed. It worked, 2021 ended up being my biggest year for both distance run and elevation climbed.

This year, I don't care about these totals.

Other goals are the aim: consistency, workout variety, speed, getting through the ultras well, resilience, long-term improvement.

But I will track the distance and elevation gain of the long runs to keep each type of long run in step with the others and build from month to month.

For instance, right now , the hilliest long run I've done had about 1000m+. So on the next run of this type, I'll do between 1250 and 1500m+.

Do ten or more races or time trials

I love doing races, and I love testing myself, wherever my fitness is at.

I also like running with other people, and racing is about the only time I run with other people.

So I want to make sure I do enough races and tests. That's what it's all about for me.

Ten's a good number as I did six last year, and the most I've ever done was nine, in 2015 and 2003.

Do the same ultras as last year

Out of those ten races, I plan to do the same ultras as in 2021:

• Ultra Montseny
• Ultra Pirineu
• Long Trail BCN

Plus at least one other:

• Els Bastions

The magic of drills

I've long been a fan of drills, but I hadn't run them for a long time.

But I'm back doing them at least twice a week, and they have reminded me of their magic.

I do two rounds of butt kicks, A- and B-skip, fast feet, side skip, high knees, carioca and a couple of new ones: ankling and straight leg run.

It was the ankling one that drove home the benefits of drills.

After doing this drill just once, I could feel I needed to loosen my ankles. They felt too tight in the air. The drill had shown me a weakness in my stride: too much tension in the recovery phase.

So whenever I noticed tightness in my ankles over the next couple of runs, I let my ankles go slack in the air. It felt much better.

But weeks after that first session of ankling, I don't get the feeling I should loosen my ankles anymore. 

Sometimes it occurs to me that I should keep my ankles slack. But trying to relax them doesn't make my running feel any different or better. Not like it did on the runs after the first insight.

It's like the drill taught my body what it should be doing, and my body got the message quick.

I'd had breakthroughs like this with drills in the past. The A-skip and butt kick. After doing these, I could feel where the drilled actions fitted into my running stride.

I'd emphasize the action of the drill in my running, and my stride felt cleaner. Then, after a couple of days, emphasizing the action didn't feel different anymore. Like what has happened this time around with ankling.

Are drills worth doing when your body knows the patterns they reveal?

I don't know, but I'm betting they are.

First, doing them must reinforce good form. Second, they are also a mild form of strength and plyometric training.

So I'm going to keep doing them, and look for new ones and new ways to do them to stimulate learning. 

Right now I'm working on high knees, the drill that I do the worst — ungainly and slow. If I can get it to not feel awkward, my running brain might learn something useful.

Big Vert comparsion: first vs second time through

As the table below shows, I did a lot more training in my second run through of the Big Vert plan.

Exactly:

• 46% more vertical gain
• 18% more distance
• 32% more time running
• about the same amount of muscular endurance (ME) sessions
  
• twice as many Z3 sessions
• over six times as many hill sprint (HS) sessions

But did it prepare me well enough for my race (the Ultra Pirineu, 100 km and nearly 6000 m+)?

Yes, definitely!

• I finished in a time within my target range, which admittedly was broad given I hadn't done a race this long before.
• I felt strong throughout, even at the end, running well on the last downhill and flat bits.
• I recovered quickly afterwards.

The plan itself, forgetting the races it successfully prepared me for both times, has also taught me how to train for hilly events and get used to doing lots of climbing.

What's next?

I'll probably use a hybrid of the Big Vert plan next year to prepare for similar or the same races, varying the terrain and adding in elements from Fast After 50 by Joe Friel, which gels pretty well with the Uphill Athlete philosophy.

I plan to do four-week cycles with one recovery week, one vert week (the most elevation gain), one flatter week (the most distance) and one mixed week (in between the vert and flatter weeks in distance and metres climbed).

Why mix up the terrain?

First, I want a bit of variety. I like running on the flat! And not just for recovery runs.

Second, I want to make sure I continue to develop or maintain my running economy and form, and you can only do that (I think) with some more intentional flat running.

The Big Vert plan was great for adapting my body to handle lots of elevation gain. But I don't want to be doing that kind of training forever, even if I'm only preparing to do hilly ultras. Actually, especially if I only do hilly ultras! In that case, I'd never get to run on other terrain and at other paces. My running would become one dimensional. Not something I can afford given the meandering paces I go at even when in top shape!

If I keep up the ME, hill sprints and other strength stuff, I should be able to get enough climbing stimulus in the varied four-week cycle to not fall apart on race day. And I'd do more climbing in the last two months or so before the race, especially in the race-specific long runs.

8 weeks out of 20: more of everything so far!

So far, I've managed to do more of everything on my second run-through of the Big Vert plan:

	First run-through					Second run-through
week	m+	km	hr (run)	ME	HS	m+	km	hr (run)	ME	HS
1	1356	58	6.5	0	0	2475	64	9	0	1
2	1244	51	6	0	1	2572	83	9.5	1	1
3	2461	58	7.5	0	0	2536	54	7	1	1
4	596	15.3	2	1	0	1390	44	6	1	0
subtotal	5657	182.3	22	1	1	8973	245	31.5	3	3
5	1531	42	5.5	1	0	3033	66	11	1	1
6	1835	48	6.5	1	1	3211	80	11.5	1	1
7	1994	54	7	1	0	3524	81	12.5	1	1
8	2372	72	9	1	0	402	27	3	1	0
subtotal	7732	216	28	4	1	10170	254	38	4	3
total	13389	398.3	50	5	2	19143	499	69.5	7	6
average	1674	50	6.3	0.6	0.25	2393	62.4	8.7	0.9	0.8

• 43% more elevation gain

• 25% more distance

• 39% more time running/hiking

• Two more ME workouts

• Four more hill sprint workouts

The only problem I've had is a niggle in my left knee in week 8 that kept off the trails for a couple of days.

I'm not sure how I did it. It was either too much of a ramp in week 7 or banging it with a heavy dumbbell in the gym in week 8.

Either way, it seems to be under control now, although I might need to be careful with the amount of downhill running I do for a couple of weeks.